Sometimes I just want to scream at God and ask him how certain things
could be happening, why they have to happen to me or to someone I love, and
when I don’t get an immediate answer, sometimes, I just want to turn my back on
Him. And turning my back on church is often one of the first things that I want
to do.
Because church, well at least religion, is often the cause of my
doubts and despairs. People who have
never read the bible act like they’ve never read the Bible; people who don’t
profess to be Christian don’t act like Christians should act. I want God to
make them behave, and I cry out “Why?”
And even worse, people who do read
the Bible act like they’ve never seen one before; people who call themselves
Christians act like the worst of heathens. And it’s especially discouraging
when I’m one of those people. So, again I have to wonder where God is hiding. I
want Him to prove Himself to me, again. I want to see Him, and I want Him to
make Himself known in my world.
Which takes us to the story of
Thomas, you may know him as Doubting Thomas. You remember, he was the disciple
that wasn’t there with the rest of the gang when Jesus made His first
post-resurrection appearance. (See John 20:19-29) When Thomas came back from
shopping, or fishing, or out for a walk to clear his head (we don’t know why he
wasn’t locked up with the rest of them) he couldn’t believe the incredible
story they had to tell him. In fact he
wouldn’t believe it, until that is, Jesus made a second appearance and Thomas
was able to see for himself the nail marks, and put his fingers in the nail
holes. Sometimes we need proof. Yes, it’s nice to always be able to step out in
faith, but that’s not always the case. But when Jesus appears, then like Thomas,
there’s nothing we can say but “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus shows up and shows off, and
suddenly my faith is restored, renewed, strengthened—whatever the appropriate word
is for the exact circumstance.
A lot of times faith is just
that—those things unseen in which we still believe and have hope, other times
there is empirical evidence. And in the case of Jesus, it’s a little bit of
both.
Last year CNN had a popular show
called Finding Jesus: Fact, Fiction,
Forgery. Each episode took one of the biblical narratives and looked at
some of the evidence for, and against, it. Preeminent scholars were guests on the
show, and the viewer could determine for himself whether or not he wanted to believe
or disbelieve, or change his mind.
This Sunday, Mar 5th,
season 2 premieres. Later on in the season there will be an episode dealing with Thomas. Legend has it that it
was this same Doubting Thomas who took the gospel to India. What do you think? 9:00 pm ET/PT on CNN
Watch the trailer HERE
My friends at Grace Hill Media have sent me a Gift card
($25.00) from Lifeway to use as a giveaway.
Tell me if you think Thomas went to India, and the gift card could be
yours. If you get randomly selected, I'll email you the card.
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